The Knife Junkie Podcast is the place for knife newbies and knife junkies to learn about knives and knife collecting. Twice per week Bob DeMarco talks knives. Email Bob at theknifejunkie@gmail.com; visit https://theknifejunkie.com.
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Bob DeMarco: Coming up, we take a look at the April 2026 Gentleman Junkie giveaway knife. In the first tool, we talk about the V-44 Marine Raider Bowie. ]We take a look at the new Jack Wolf Knives Pioneer FIXedc , and we take a look at recent acquisitions from my collection of clip point blades. This is all within the past year. I'm Bob DeMarco. This is The Knife Junkie Podcast.

Announcer: Welcome to The Knife Junkie Podcast, your weekly dose of knife news and information about knives and knife collecting. Here's your host, Bob The Knife Junkie DeMarco.

Bob DeMarco: Welcome back to the show. One of my favorite comments from this past week was from Shane of @EDGYAMERICANBLADES talking about Gary Creeley's diamond emulsion. He says, "Gary's diamond emulsion is the best I've ever used. The application is far superior". We had Gary Creeley on the show, great guy and known for his exceptional heat treatment, use of exotic steels, or I should say super high-end steels, and his edge geometry. But he also makes stropping compounds and has these other specialized sharpening products that he makes. Shane is endorsing it. I love that. I love when the community comes together.

Second one was from @drivestregth. He says, "Great vid Bob! I've got both the Clinch Pick regular and double edge. After spending considerable time using the trainer, I've put the double edge away. She is now just a safe queen. Far too many times it would have ended up causing as much harm as good. The great thing about coming w/ a trainer - add a red sharpie and a competent partner, you learn quite a bit". Drive strength, I agree with you 100% and it's an interesting and mature choice to put the double edge away sometimes or at least carry it differently. I have a couple of double edge knives that, let's say I've lost a little bit around the waist, but for quite a while I had a little bit extra and it could have been dangerous with some of these hook shaped double edge blades when drawing across the belly. So you learn to carry with what you got, but yeah, I agree. A competent partner and some red sharpie all over your arms will show you how badly things can go and how quickly. So let's not jump into the knife edge first. Okay, I bet that didn't mean to happen.

Announcer: What's in his pocket? Let's find out. Here's the Knife Junkie with his pocket check of knives.

Bob DeMarco: In my front right pocket today was the beautiful Off-Grid Knives Polaris XL. This is man, this is a really, really top notch production for Off-Grid Knives. As a matter of fact, the most top notchiest ever. He went to Kansept for this and used Vanax steel. Vanax, super clean steel. That's one of those kind of mythical steels I've heard about as I am not too interested in steel, let's say I'm not a steel snob. I've never really looked too deeply into Vanax or sought it out from my collection, but I gotta say it is awesome so far. And what I mean by that is it's living up to the Off-Grid legacy. In my household, Off-Grid Knives are the ones that are used for slicing cardboard especially, but a lot of around the house chores. This is by far the classiest around the house chores knife I've ever had here. And the Vanax just seems to glide right through material. But in saying that I do recognize that Off-Grid Knives uses D2, they use 154, they use a bunch of steels. And I can't in good conscience say that I can tell the difference between that and the Vanax yet. I think that it will be across time that I will because of the awesome edge holding. Anyway, beautiful, that's a four and a quarter inch blade, titanium bolster and awesome red dawn carbon fiber.

Next up, speaking of beautiful carbon fiber, I'll open it right here. It's got such a stout pull, love it. The new Jack Wolf Knives Gateway Barlow. Of course the Gateway series is your gateway into this premium brand. Of course you're starting off with a $75 knife here, and a beautiful one at that with all of the fit and all of the design and sharpness and utility of a Jack Wolf Knives premium knife. It's just lacking the materials and some of the higher finish, but this thing is a great knife. If you're really interested in stepping into the world of slip joints and you want a traditional slip joint, meaning one in which the blade stops in the handle due to the kick, that's the size of this ricasso here, as opposed to a stop pin, I would definitely go with Jack Wolf Knives and I would start with the Gateway series or the steel series. You're in it for less money because the materials are a little less premium, but the design and the build are so awesome. You'll be happy and you'll probably start inching upwards in your collecting.

All right, next up I had a Spyderco Delica on me. I had a lot of knives on me today. I had a couple of different scenarios. This one was on me in my vest pocket and then in the back pocket for a while today. I always think I need to carry this one more often when I'm carrying it because it's so small, it's so handy and it can really fit a whole bunch of roles. But we went on a little road trip, I brought this along. I also of course had the Socom Elite, but I wasn't carrying that today. But I brought this along. I was thinking of it as a seat belt cutter, that back, the spine of that Wharncliffe looks like it would slip nicely under a seat belt. I don't know what I'm thinking before I head out, before I leave, but anyway, I had that on me then and I had it on me for today, so I'll probably carry that for a few days.

And then my fixed blade today was the one that really started the fixed blade carry in earnest for me on a daily basis. The Hogtooth Knives EDC Tanto. This is the knife upon which the Nova 1 and Nova 2 were based. Same handle and same dimensions, we just changed up the blade shapes for the Nova 1 and Nova 2. But this one really, really excellent, 154CM, deep hollow grind, has a sort of wedge like tip like a Chris Reeve Knives tanto kind of. Long swedge, it's like a clip point tanto. And it comes with a pedigree. I know that this knife, not this exact one I hold in my hand, but this design has been used to save a life, and to do the opposite in saving that life. And it was a Marine, a young Marine in Iraq. So I like knowing, having the personal anecdote knowing that what I'm using, even if I haven't used it yet or God forbid I ever have to use it for self defense, is capable in extreme situations. It's a very, very tough knife. People might look down their nose at 154CM and say, oh, there's other stuff, more crazy cool modern stuff. But yeah, the 154CM is tough and it does the trick. Anyway, that's my TED talk. Okay, that didn't make any sense, did it?

All right. The Hogtooth Knives EDC Tanto is awesome. Go check out Matt Chase and Hogtooth Knives. Great sheath and carry system here.

I also had the Delica on me. Oh wait, wait, I had an ESK today. I don't want to get out of this without showing you my ESK. I'm feeling like you might want to see this one. My ESK today was the Cold Steel Tai Pan, the beautiful dagger from Cold Steel. The most premium dagger from Cold Steel because they make a lot of different daggers. This one's beautiful, I've always wanted it. The first one I ordered was a lemon, sent it back, got this one, it's perfect. Razor sharp. And I've made it that way. I mean it came sharp, but I've really gone to town on it. It's really a great slasher because of those quad hollow ground bevels there. And it's just a great knife, super pointy, great for stabbing of course. But the slash with the belly and the thin behind the edge hollow ground bevels make this thing a pretty formidable and for a dagger versatile. And then you got that skull crusher on the back or whatever you want to call it, skull massager. Let's call it a massager. Skull crusher is so nasty sounding. And then this sheath which I do wish I bought back in the day when it came with a leather sheath, but that's a long time ago.

So that's what I had on me. Let me know what you were carrying, especially your ESK. I want to know what brings you that emotional support on our days because no one has easy days. What do they say, yesterday was the only easy day? Yeah, I'm no Navy SEAL, but I like that saying.

All right. So next up I want to talk about our affiliate link with Three Dog Knife. I'm gonna show you three amazing Three Dog knives. This is the Riot knives. This is the Riot right here, really awesome. They all come by the way with dog tags and the dog tags show, they're the birth cards of these knives and show the materials, the model names and other such information. These are three really incredible knives. The one on the bottom, this one right here, the Mac I've used. These other two I've carried, the Riot, never used it. And the Champion's blade I've only fondled and looked at. I'm keeping it pristine right now. But this one I've used at the family fire pit and it's awesome. This one is M390, these other K110, this is 52100. Great outdoors knives made by Mike of Northern Knives, his in-house custom knife brand Three Dog Knife. He does a beautiful job on these things and they are made and used in the Alaskan wilderness. So he's up in Anchorage, Alaska. And he goes off on these three week elk hunts, you know, I'll be back in three weeks, don't expect to hear from me, that kind of thing. And these are the knives he makes and brings with him and they are awesome. So if you want to get one, oh, by the way, beautiful, beautiful leather sheaths. I'm a sucker for nice leather. But you can get one by going to [theknifejunkie.com/threedogknife](https://theknifejunkie.com/threedogknife). It's the only way to get this discount. And then at checkout, put in knifejunkie and you can get 25% off. I warned Mike, I said, Mike, that's 25% off, that's a lot. He was like, let's do this. So Mike of Northern Knives and Three Dog Knife. He's a regular, every week he comes on Thursday Night Knives unless he's off on one of those epic elk hunts and we have a good time talking. So check out his stuff. This one, the Champion's blade was designed by Trevor Barrett, a Forged in Fire champion. And this is called the Champion's blade. Great outdoor tanto style knife. That's another thing I think is very cool about this brand is that they make outdoor tantos. How cool is that?

Okay. Next up, Gentleman Junkie giveaway knife. If you are a Gentleman Junkie, you are in the running in April 2026 for this Shed Knives 2026 Tanto. I know I look at this and I think, that's a Wharncliffe. I mean, gee golly, that's a modified sheep's foot. But he calls it a Tanto, so that's what it is. And Jack Billings, he's the man who makes these. Quarter inch thick, 154CM, heat treated to I can't remember what, but he puts the heat treat certificate in there. He talks about the different processes of making these awesome and ultra robust outdoor knives. Well this one will be yours. If you're a Gentleman Junkie and a lucky Gentleman Junkie this month.

So there it is, beautiful G10 and nicely done. I have a number of his knives. The one I carried the most recently has been the Skur light, a small version of his Skur that I can just drop in my pocket. So, we do a lot of giveaways on Thursday Night Knives, but the third Thursday of every month is the special Gentleman Junkie giveaway where we give away something custom or something special and a little extra. So that's what this month's prize is. Sounds funny to say prize. But there you go, that's the April 2026 Gentleman Junkie GAW.

And since we're talking about Patreon, I'll just show you before we get out of this section, something cool that Jim just put up on our Patreon page, and there it is right there. ]He's doing this series called The American Edge 250: The Reclaimed Edge, talking about the 250th anniversary of the country and really, that one, that illustration he just breezed by is so cool. But he's talking about how knives and other such implements were hybridized by different steels and materials coming over from Europe and then mixing in the melting pot so to speak of the United States. So really interesting. This America 250 series Jim just keeps putting added value on our Patreon page. I love him for that as well as for other things. He's just a great dude. But this America 250 series is beyond. It's so cool. Just an interesting thought. So help support us on Patreon. Go to [theknifejunkie.com/patreon](https://theknifejunkie.com/patreon). And see what we have to offer you there. You can scan the QR code Jim's about to put up on the screen and if you do it for a whole year at once, you save 12%.

[All right guys, let us now get to Knife Life News.

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Okay, first up, Boker, always, always very prolific. They have a new Boker Fructis Flipper Designed by Stéphane Espi. Fructis. Reminds me of like fruit knife, Fructis or like a shampoo. Anyway, this one. He is an award-winning self-taught knifemaker out of France. I had not heard of him until then, but I love the look of this. I love the sort of neutral overall look to it. That handle does smack a bit of the Boker Burnley Kwaiken, but I'm not saying that as a, I think it's just a little bit of company DNA. Anyway, that's a 3.15 inch sheep's foot blade beautifully done in Nitro-V. It's a front flipper and it's got that really nice neutral handle. It is contoured G10. So in cross-section it's nicely rounded. You got a sculpted pocket clip, right hand only. G10, as I mentioned, liner lock. 2.65 ounces. Available now. This one is $117 MSRP, but I expect at our favorite online purveyors, it'll be less. That's MSRP.

All right. Next up from We Knife and Ostap Hel. Now that's a combination I have not heard of in a long time. Ostap Hel for a while I think was designing exclusively for Real Steel. Anyway, this one is for We Knife. Now I'm not sure if it is he who was exclusive or if I'm thinking of Kombou. So thinking out loud here. 3.75 inches of M390 blade steel, beautiful. They are listing this as a modified spade point blade, something I haven't really heard of. And if you look closely at the picture Jim has on screen, it looks like right at the ricasso, like directly below the thumb stud, it looks like it's a compound grind and that the grind widens out right there. I'm not sure why it would do that, but very interesting feature. Beautiful, of course. Ostap's work is gorgeous. The blue hardware is nice. And then you have that really heavily chamfered yet somewhat neutral handle with the inlays. Now the inlays can be either anodized titanium or carbon fiber for a pop of color. Crossbar lock. 4.9 ounces for the titanium inlay, 4.27 for the carbon fiber inlay. Available soon for MSRP $410. A big knife there for $410. Beautiful. And you know, if you love it, you'll probably throw down that money and We Knife makes a damn good knife. That's called the Tryon, by the way, the Tryon.

Next up, my favorite of all these listings today. This one's a beauty. [This is the RoseCraft Blades Drop a Copperhead Called Snake Creek. Their first, I believe, Copperhead patterned knife. You know a Copperhead when you see that front bolster that has somewhat of a finger guard, so that instead of it swells out before it rounds around the ricasso. So that's what makes a Copperhead. Oftentimes, most often they have that Wharncliffe, but frequently it'll be a clip point like in the Case version. So anyway, a beauty here. 3.3 inches of 14C28N. Now this is the third knife that they've put 14C28N on, if my count is correct. They've always been D2 and now they're venturing into 14C. This is a very handsome knife. I really like all the proportions and dimensions of this one. It's got a nice long pull on the blade for pulling it open. And a beautiful swedge going down to a very acute tip. This is a modern slip joint, meaning it is not stopping, it does not stop inside the handle due to the ricasso and the kick here. It's stopping because there's a stop pin inside like a modern folder. So that's how I differentiate between a modern slip joint and a traditional slip joint. This is a modern. A Jack Wolf is a traditional. This thing's a beauty. I really would like to get it. I would get it in this blue, but it also comes, this smooth blue bone with the shield, but it also comes in jigged brown bone. Haven't seen that, but blue is sweet. Very nice. 2.9 ounces. It's available now for $63.

Last up, also a slip joint, this one from Civivi, their first one of 2026. I bet. New Civivi Slip Joint on the Way. This is a 2.98 inch Nitro-V blade. It's a drop point, a really pretty looking knife with a long pull which you don't see. It's not that long, but it's not a nail nick. It's a little bit longer and straight. Down the other side of the blade. If you go to the Civivi website you'll see it there. This thing has stainless steel bolsters, burlap Micarta covers in a number of different colors. Gray, ivory, and brown. It also comes with bronze washers which is cool because Civivi very rarely uses washers, but this would be a great place to do so. 3.26 ounces. So in my opinion, a little on the heavy side. Might be those big steel bolsters. Available now for $97 MSRP. So probably less at our favorite purveyors.

All right, still to come on the Knife Junkie podcast, we're gonna take a look at the new Jack Wolf Knives Pioneer FIXedc. But first let's take a look at The First Tool.

Announcer: You're listening to the Knife Junkie podcast. Here's some cool knife history with the Knife Junkie's The First Tool.

Bob DeMarco: Picture the Pacific in World War II. Wet heat, thick jungle, tangled vine, and men carrying everything they needed on their backs. Out there a knife could not just look fierce, it had to earn its place. What collectors often call the V-44 Marine Raider Bowie actually began life earlier in 1934 as a jungle survival knife developed for US Army Air Corps bailout kits in places like Panama and Hawaii. It was built for the worst day imaginable. A pilot down in the tropics, alone, needing one blade to chop, cut, pry, and survive. Then the Raiders got a hold of it and the knife's story changed. This is funny just as an aside. The Marines always get their hands on the leftover equipment and give it a second and maybe even better life. The Second Marine Raider Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Evans Carlson needed tools for jungle warfare before standardized combat knives were widely available. Carlson believed the Collins No. 18 could do the job. And Major James Roosevelt helped obtain roughly 1,000 of them. Because Carlson had brought the Chinese phrase Gung Ho, or work together, into the Raider culture, Marines started calling the blade the Gung Ho knife. Suddenly, this survival machete was no longer just gear, it was a unit identity hanging from a belt. And the knife itself? It was a compromise. The National Museum of the Marine Corps lists it at about 14 inches long with a 9 inch clip point blade, while other period descriptions put the blade at around 9 and a half inches depending on variant. It wore a brass guard and wartime examples used materials like a horn style plastic or bakelite grip slabs. Raiders liked it because it could slash through undergrowth with its thinner blade, open ration tins and ammo boxes, and it still served as a serious fighting knife if things got desperate. That is its real charm. And that is the real charm of this pattern. It was never only a weapon. It was never only just a tool. It was both, because war demanded both. Now for the fun collectors twist. The name is a little bit tangled. The Collins No. 18 is often called the V-44. But American rifleman notes that the V-44 designation technically belongs to the WR Case survival machete introduced in 1944, which essentially looks like a short machete. Even so, history does not always preserve the neat label, it preserves the stronger legend, and the legend belongs to the Raiders. Whatever name you stamp on the ricasso, this knife remains one of the great Pacific war blades. One of the great war blades of all time. A piece of survival steel that became a symbol of grit, teamwork, and jungle warfare.

Now, one of our guests on this show recently has a vast collection of these knives. I'm talking about Reese of Well Regulated. If you like this kind of talk, you like talking about bowies, you like going down the rabbit hole, join us for our interviews with these makers and they really go down the rabbit hole of their craft or of their collecting. Also join us for Thursday Night Knives every Thursday night 10pm Eastern Standard Time right here on YouTube. And we talk live. It's a great time. New people are coming every week and it's growing and it's awesome. Plus we do knife giveaways, so come join us.

All right, let's get to the State of the Collection.

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Bob DeMarco: This is the brand new Jack Wolf Knives Pioneer FIXedc from their fixed EDC series, and this one is the Pioneer. This is the fixed blade version of the Pioneer Jack. Ben Belkin's take on the sodbuster. This is awesome. You know what's cool is I've been seeing a lot of, not a lot, I've seen a couple of sodbuster fixed blades recently, recently meaning over the past year. I like this trend. It's a very, very useful blade shape. And I think that Ben really knocks it out of the park with this really slightly recurved version, which will give you so much life in the belly. Because the belly is where you can use this most, and as you sharpen over the life of this knife, that's S90V, you're probably not going to have to sharpen too often, but when you do, that slight recurve which you can just barely perceive will help you out. He gives you a little extra belly up front, like a lot of traditional knifemakers do. Anyway, a beautiful version of this with this pink abalone. It is positively dazzling to look at. I really, really love this. And wouldn't you know, I knew that this was one of the options and I knew it was coming to me and I was like, I don't know what I'm going to get. I hope I don't get the pink one. I got it and I fell in love with it instantly. And guess what? So did my wife. She was like immediately, I've never seen her react to a knife like this, not just the beautiful handle but the way it felt in her hand and the blade and the sheath. She loved everything about this and I was like, okay, there's no way this is my knife any longer. This is my wife's knife. So I might have to get one for myself. I don't know, but I love it. I love it. I've not even put the blade in the sheath, but here is the sheath. They all have stitching that accords with the handle, which I think is really cool. So here we have the pink stitching on the black leather with the pink abalone. There's titanium with a purple hardware that's got purple stitching. There's like an 80s camo carbon that's got yellow stitching. So a really cool visual motif there. And I got to say, of all the fixed EDCs so far, this is my favorite. And there are four I think, including the one with Jacob Creates. But really, really awesome knife and wouldn't you know, it's no longer mine. But really nice. I'm going to do a closeup video on this comparing it to its folding brother. I like this one better. I like the blade on this one better actually. It's slightly different and a little bit more refined on this I think. The other one seems a little bit thicker.

All right, there you go. That's the Jack Wolf Knives Pioneer FIXedc. Nice new knife. All right, before we get to the nice new clip points I've gotten over this past year, I want to show you this, emotional support knife. I love this. Carrying confidence every day. I'm shocked like this is one of those ones I thought we already had this, and then Jim popped this up and showed me and I was like this is perfect. And I got to say the perfect knife, that sort of drop point 110 would make a great emotional support knife. You can get this and so many other designs and pithy maxims on a t-shirt, on an apron, a hat, a mug, a tote bag. Show the world your preference for tools. Which tool do you like the best? I like knives the best. Some people like wrenches, others hammers, but we're knife people and we need these emotional support knives. So go to [theknifejunkie.com/shop](https://theknifejunkie.com/shop). Check out the 30 some odd pages of merch and designs we have there and wear it proudly out the handle.

All right, let's get to these Great Clip Point Blades - Recent Acquisitions.

Now how I'm defining maybe a few of these are just straight up bowies, two of them. But the rest are in the clip point family, and I realized this is one of my very favorite blade shapes and I tend to collect them I would say the most. So I figured I'd bring these 10 together that we got over the last year. All right, first up, a very important addition to the collection.

This is an update of one of my most revered knives in my collection, the Cold Steel Trailmaster Bowie. Well, I finally updated my nearly 30 year old version with a 3V version. Have not used it yet. It is 100% pristine and 100% beautiful. Now when I show this with my old and original Trailmaster, you'll see that it is thinner from north to south when you look at the blade because I've reprofiled it twice. I've used it so much over the years, so it's a little bit more slender than this. And the second time I reprofiled it I used my grinder and I did a good job but maybe took a little bit more off than expected. This is just a great knife. This is the best do everything knife in my opinion. This would make an excellent fighting knife, on top of the fact that I know that it makes an excellent outdoors knife. I've used my other one for batoning logs for years and years. The only thing is that zero ground swedge which is great for fighting, does really chew up your baton. But hey, if you need to baton with your Trailmaster, you probably are not too worried about your baton. You're worried about surviving and starting a fire or whatever. But a great all around knife. I love it. The only thing I need to do to make the collection complete at least of some of these Cold Steel bowies is get the shorter version in the Recon Scout. 3V, love the 3V, and I love that aluminum guard. My other one has brass. One thing I don't love but I will do is the sheath. I do wish they still came in leather, but hey, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

All right, next is the TKell Knives FMF. An absolutely gorgeous clip point blade with a beautiful profile and built on the mercenary handle. The mercenary, another very popular model by TKell knives, but I love the broad shape of this clip point blade. This is a collaboration design with Frogman Tactical. And this one was a very special production that Tim did and then auctioned off on Whatnot. I was not a part of that auction, but he saved this one for me, which was very kind. And it says don't tread on me here, as you can see, it's got the Gadsden rattler. And then on this side, We the People. So I say this every time I show off this knife, and I guess I show this knife off a lot, but I love it so much. This design I have full confidence in this gorgeous and very effective design, but I am unwilling to even take this out and just noodle around with it in the backyard because it's so special to me. And my older daughter has already laid claim to it. She's quite a patriot and a God fearing young girl, young woman, and she wants this knife. And I'm like sure. Both of them have made claims on my knife collection. Makes me swell with pride. It's like when you hear them playing Tool or Led Zeppelin through their bedroom door. Brings a tear to the eye. That hasn't happened yet. Still Taylor Swift in this house.

]All right, next up is the VGKC First Strike. I got this one at Blade Show 2025. Speaking of which, now I'm just thinking out loud, if you're going to Blade Show, buy your tickets and your hotel and your plane fare now. I got to do the same. But this one I bought right from the man himself, Jacob A. Sweet. What a nice guy and what a talented knifemaker. He does every single one of these by hand, 100%. He cuts out the blanks with a saw. But this guy, he puts out knives like you wouldn't believe. Now before he had his own Very Good Knife Company, he was doing this for a company with his dad and in other knife companies, just banging out knives and blanks endlessly and quickly. So I mean this is piecework for him. It's like if you're a chef, this is like cutting onions for this guy. And then making something delicious out of it of course. But anyway, this knife is so superb and it seems like it's made by a machine because it's so exact, but anyway, I don't mean to impugn the handwork of people, but this thing is just insane. Anyway, like a K-Bar, this one is 80CrV2. Like a K-Bar, it's got that short clip blade, hollow ground, and about six and a half inches there. Nice big handle that allows an even larger hand than mine. Cause I have a medium sized hand, you get a big firm grip on this. What I love about it, I can go full saber grip with this with a fully extended thumb up into that thumb ramp and still have a full handle for the rest of my hand. This thing I've used out at the family fire pit. It does very well at making feather sticks, which comes in handy when the wood is wet and kind of soggy around here. And I think it would make an excellent combat knife. This has come up on my combat knife lists for sure. And this one I have seen Jacob do custom versions of this with a slightly shorter handle for a kind of EDC and with a sharpened fully sharpened swedge. Which made me feel jealous. Cause I looked at that and I was like, why didn't I think of that? So maybe one of these days I'll get one of these customized by Jacob, probably not. This one will do. I love it. Red handle even works, and it's starting to take on my personal fill signature so it looks even better. All right, and a very nice sheath. You should really follow Very Good Knife Company on Instagram, that's where you'll find out about the drops. He makes so many cool knives, many of them small utilitarian, outdoors and hunting knives. Beautiful work. And nice handles.

Okay, next up, this one I was very excited about and I showed off quite a bit. This was a big ESK for me over this past year, and it's the KA-BAR Doghead Utility Knife. Saw a video, random video on this knife, I don't even remember whose it was. It may have been an old Gideon Tactical or something. But I just kind of fell in love with the knife. I was like, I love KA-BARs. I've wanted to get a new or modern era KA-BAR for a long time, but hadn't. And I really like this one. It's a variation on the theme. You still have the same great blade. This is very utilitarian in that it does not have a sharp swedge at all. I guess all the modern KA-BARs' swedges are like this. So more utilitarian than a fighting knife. You can use it as a full knife. You can baton it without totally destroying your baton quickly. And do other stuff that you don't want a double edge for. So you got that same great KA-BAR fighting utility blade. And then you come aft and you see a one sided guard which I really like. It's a one sided, but it's got a short thumb side so you can brace your thumb against it in a saber grip. But more importantly, you can span over it with your thumb to put your thumb on the back of the blade without menacing your thumb. But down below for the forefinger, you have a nice drop there and a more substantial guard on the edge side. The guard itself is much thicker than the standard KA-BAR and it doesn't cant inward towards the finger. Something I've never liked about KA-BARs. I always thought that they should cant outward towards the victim, or the point. And then you have that really nicely grooved stacked leather handle. I love the KA-BAR handle. It's oblong in cross section so it's not going to spin in your hand or anything. It is not circular. But this butt cap was the other thing I was really going for. I love the shape of this butt cap. It resists centrifugal force when you're slashing with it. But also, and probably more importantly, you have a lanyard hole in it and it can function as a hammer. So this knife is really meant as less of a fighting knife, more as a utility knife. Take it out into the woods, use that hammer to hammer in your tent stakes, use that blade and your thumb on the back of the blade for your bushcrafting and that kind of stuff. But really to me it's still a KA-BAR fighting knife, just a better one. In my opinion. I love the sheath as usual. Nice sturdy thick full grain leather sheath, but what I love about it is that dog head with the goggles. Like it's Snoopy flying as ace, flying ace.

Okay, next up is one from APOC Survival. APOC Survival puts out some really cool well survival knives but also they're like zombie apocalypse survival knives some of them. Some of them are pure utility. This one is kind of down the middle. This is the APOC Wallace Bowie, the Mike Wallace designed bowie by APOC Survival. They have a Demko bowie which is also very cool, but this one I gotta say, this one for me is the jam. It's the bomb diggity, if you're old enough. Really nice 9 and a half inch, a 9 and three quarters inch blade here. Really nice long slender clip point with a clip at the very tip. Full flat ground, quarter inch thick, and a super ergonomic handle. Really nicely contoured and fluted G10 here with the grooves and all that. And then you have this nice finger choil which is crowned and round and just feels nice and comfy on the hand. I've used this a couple times out back. Nothing too robust. I've seen Reese break this knife. But it's not because the knife is weak or lame or anything like that. He was doing some pretty strenuous stuff on it and it broke a little bit I think at the tang. But a really great knife and feels good and handy and is balanced nicely and then has this kind of cant where you have a downward angled bowie blade, slightly downward angle from the handle.

I am looking forward to checking out some of the swords at APOC Survival this year at Blade Show 2026. I looked at some of their stuff last year there and man it's awesome. Like the Yataghan I have, but they have a lot of other cool ethnographic, modernized ethnographic weapons.

All right, not last one, I got a bunch of others. I got five others. But this next one is one that I got from a seller on eBay who happened to have this in his smelly basement for a long time. His moldy basement. The sheath still has that slight smell to it, but I had to have the Cold Steel Black Bear Classic. I've been wanting it for so many years but hadn't. I wasn't going to buy it brand new with the Secure-Ex sheath. It had to be this. It had to be the leather. So I did find it at a great price and unused from a seller. I'm going to see if it still... Yeah, it still has a slight mildewy smell to it, but the sheath, the leather itself is fine.

What a beautiful knife this is. A 400 series steel here. I believe this one, yeah, it is not a San Mai. Made in Taiwan and just has a great handle here. Why is this in this list Bob? Well this is a clip point. Look at it. It's not just a drop point. It is a clip. And the clip starts right about there. Actually, it's a little less obvious in this one than it is in the OSS where you see a slightly sharper clip, and in other sub-hilt fighters, but the idea is a long slender fighting clip point with a double edge that extends all the way to the ricasso. So it's not just a sharpened swedge or a false edge, it is sharpened all the way down. Speaking of the ricasso on this one, just a nice little luxurious touch, it is rounded. It is crowned right there. Imagine you had to come up on the blade like this. Wow. And put your finger there. I don't know why you would have to do that, but it would be very comfortable. It's not for that. It's just a nice and somewhat luxurious touch. It also makes the life of the sheath, the throat of the sheath last longer. This one... So glad I have this. This really would make an excellent fighting knife if you had to, heaven forbid, use a knife for that purpose. It feels so good when you hold it in your hand. So I highly recommend it. Whether you like the leather sheath or not, highly recommend it. You can find it for a little bit more than what you would pay for a brand new one with the Secure-Ex sheath.

Okay, the next one is also a knife and a blade pattern that I've always been crazy about. And I think the first time I noticed it was in the movie Uncommon Valor, way back in the 80s, you know, Vietnam veterans going back to Vietnam to save their friends who were MIAs. And then the next time I saw it was in Terminator 2. You know what I'm talking about, the MACV-SOG Bowie. And SOG knives really made their, like, brought it back, made it famous to a new generation or several generations of people. And I recently got this. I'm a fan of SOG Grunt on YouTube. He seems like a great guy and he's got an awesome collection. Has a lot of SOGs. Who's showing off his SOG Tech Bowie. I thought it was so cool and I ordered one from Amazon. I've really been loving it. AUS-8A, per usual with that gorgeous blade. It's a six inch blade, unlike my Super SOG Bowie which is like seven and a half. So this is the more original size. The one thing that sticks in my craw is that badge in the middle of the handle. The picture of the one I was buying off of Amazon didn't have it. So that just bums me out. I colored it with sharpie knowing it would rub off. Especially rubbed off on that side. So I think what I'm going to do, I looked at maybe prying it off, I don't want to mess it up. So what I'm probably going to do is buy a little bit of black model airplane enamel or black nail polish and just cover it. I just don't want a big shiny SOG emblem on the handle of my knife as I'm doing night ops. It's going to give my position away. Look at the tip here. They call that the shark's tooth. I believe, shark's tooth tip. These SOG bowies all have that slightly sharpened swedge right there at the tip. So good, so cool. Great for penetration, and also, and I'm not sure if they're thinking of this, but great for a sort of back flicking motion like a back cut. And the larger these blades get, the easier it comes to do that. But this one, look at how well balanced it is as a fighting knife right there at the forefinger. Perfect. This is a great knife. I really love it. This is the SOG I love except for all the branding on it. You really don't have to do that. I really know it's a SOG. It says so on the sheath, it says so on the blade. You don't have to say so even larger on the handle. Just saying. Look at that thing. What a beautiful knife. Now I would love to get a custom version of this. Bark River Knives used to make a nice version of this I wouldn't have minded having. But also Vehement Knives. If you guys don't follow Vehement Knives, you have to. You'll probably never in your lifetime get one, maybe you'll handle one at Blade Show like I have. We mortals will never get one. But they're so cool and he does a MACV-SOG that is mwah beautiful.

All right, next up is the Norman Tactical Bowie. This is a bowie that I got from Tate Buzzard of the Norman Tactical several months ago at this point. This is a walking contradiction. It's got the length and the size of a bowie. Let's look at it next to the Trailmaster. So blade wise it's got the length. Blade length wise I should say. And then blade profile. But that's where the similarities end. It is a little thinner, it's got a tapered tang which is really nice, keeps the balance a little bit forward, right at the ricasso when you add the handle material. Which is great for a bowie of this size. And then this is obviously not a camp chore bowie. It's got a fully sharpened back false edge there. So this is a fighting bowie, but it is so light and quick. The handle is small, it fits my medium hand pretty perfectly with nothing extra. If you have giant hands this would probably be a little small for you. But really a great design. So it somehow manages to be, instead of you know I talk about little big knives, this is a big little knife. It feels like a little knife but you get the reach of a fighting bowie here. A cool sheath, interesting carry solution. So a taco sheath. And so that you can slip it under the belt and not have it slip all the way through, he's got this really cool, instead of metal studs popping out he's got this cool leather frog thing attached to it that you can just slide it into the... also you can slide this into your running shorts or around the house wear sweatpants or whatever. And since it's a light knife but it has this retention way of keeping it in your waistband, it works great for just around the house casual bowie carry. A great knife, I'm really happy to have this one. Kind of proud to have this one. I'm not sure what Tate's status is as a knifemaker these days, but I'm glad I have one of his knives. I think he's working on knifemaking but I'm not sure. So many of the people I have on this show are so multi-talented. And I get this, not that I'm multi-talented, but I'm multi-interested and I will cycle through different creative things. My brother does the same thing. And I think Tate might be one of these individuals. He makes knives but he also makes other stuff. And I admire that. So I'm glad to have one of his knives. And before I put it away, just look at this coffin shaped handle. I almost hesitate to call it that, but so cool, fits the hand so well with those two curves. Look at the thumb and then the fat of the thumb just sitting in there for a perfect saber grip.

All right. And this one's pretty easy to carry in jeans under cover. Not that I've done it, but I've tested it. Okay, next one, second to last here, one of my favorites from this year, the Work Tuff Gear Steadfast L . Also had the designer of this knife on the show, Calvin Richardson, Cal Richardson. He updated his very, very successful and popular Steadfast with a large version. And this, to me and I think he might agree, from our conversation, is the best and truest expression of this design. It needed the inch and a half longer blade and that long swedge to really transform this from a all-around field knife to more of a field combat knife. It really, look there's the balance again. I mean, because a fighting knife wants to be balanced right around the forefinger. You want that sort of neutral balance. And that's a seven inch blade. I mean, some people might feel differently. Some people might have a more slash heavy way of fighting that might want more weight in the blade, but in general that's sort of accepted that that's where the balance should be for a fighting knife. So this takes what was a great field knife and that could flex into a combat knife, puts it squarely in the combat role. But man alive is this an excellent utility knife. I've used this also at the fire pit out back and I'm taking it camping with me in May. This has an excellent 90 degree spine for throwing sparks. Only this much, and that's all you need. And then a beautifully crowned thumb rest there with great jimping. That did not exist on the regular Steadfast. It was just a squared off thumb ramp with no jimping. So it was fine, kind of didn't need it, but this is so much better, so much better. Same exact handle, and I got a matchy matchy. Mine both have white liners and have this blade finish. With Work Tuff Gear, this one is the K329, which is a great steel. And with Work Tuff Gear you get such an amazing edge. This edge is just so good. These knives are so sharp and I can only believe that the heat treat is exceptional. Because look at how broad that edge is. And I've used this to baton. I've used all of my Work Tuff Gear knives to baton. And they beautifully, knotty wood and everything. So awesome clip point blade, I love that long clip. And that long swedge just adds to the penetrative power of this knife. Work Tuff Gear, you cannot go wrong with.

All right, last up. This was a biggie for this year. A big purchase and a wait. And, you know, because for all good things you must wait. And this was a custom order with my friend Matt Chase of Hogtooth Knives. This is my Hogtooth Knives Fighting Bowie based on or inspired by the Bill Bagwell fighting bowies with the Devil's Horn guards, the coffin shaped handle. But more of a Matt Chase shaped bowie with a long flat sharp swedge. Beautifully sharpened swedge. And that extends about half the length of that blade. So a really excellent fighting knife. You've got W, oh man, now I always forget what the steel is. 52100? W1? I can't remember now. W2? Sorry, I have asked him a hundred times. He tells me, I tell you and I forget. Luke 8:17 on this side. And Hogtooth knives on that side. Beautiful ringed gidgee wood. A burl, this is a hardwood from Australia. Ringed gidgee. And then I asked for these studs, these are silver studs. I had learned from Rolando Espotada the meaning of the studs or why these studs exist in the handle of the Bill Bagwell bowie, and they're really indexing so you know where your hand is on the blade. They also add to grip when you look at them this way because obviously they're pronounced on that axis. But also they just give you an idea of where your hand is and how to index the handle in your hand for whatever you want to do. This one I wanted the Spanish notch, which should always be slightly below the tip of the guard nearby, so that you can leverage. You can get someone's blade caught at that angle and leverage it out. You know, in a perfect Matrix world where you can slow everything down and catch people's blades in your Spanish notch. I love the hamon on this. And the wrought iron guard. It's just overall a handsome, beautiful knife and incredibly made by Matt. I was gonna say he's a master, but he's not technically a master, he's a journeyman smith, but man alive, that guy he's gonna make he will be a master bladesmith at some point and I won't be surprised when that happens. Look at this sheath, his leather work is astounding as well. Perfectly suitable or perfect for accompanying this knife. One little brass rivet sets it off. And then that stud, he turned himself on his own lathe. He wasn't satisfied with the studs on the market, with the bowie knife sheath studs he found on the market, so he made his own. Put it on my knife, and there it is. What a beauty.

So these have been the clip point blades I've gotten over this past year. Clip point blades, bowie blades, style blades are my favorite. I have a soft spot for every other blade shape. I love the Wharncliffe. Love the American Tanto. You know, you name it, I love it. The dagger, the Hawkbill. But the bowie has stolen my heart forever. And the clip point is my favorite blade shape. I will continue to collect them and probably in a year's time I will show you the next ten clip points I get.

All right, thanks for joining me. For Jim, working his magic behind the switcher, I'm Bob DeMarco saying until next time, don't take dull for an answer.

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